Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 262
March 13, 2015
Priesthood of all believers and vocation
The blog Mission Work, which focuses on faith, work, and economics, is hosting a series on the Lutheran perspective on these issues, also known as the doctrine of vocation. Every few days for several weeks, it will post some reflections by Rev. Adam Roe, a pastor in the Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC). [Read More...]
Class, children, & the social costs of nonjudgmentalism
There is a growing chasm in our society. It isn’t so much between the wealthy and the middle class, though it does have to do with social classes, a major demarcation seeming to be between the college educated and those who just finished high school. But it isn’t an economic gap so much as a [Read More...]
Google is investing in letting us live for 500 years
Google is putting some of its gazillions of dollars into a venture capital fund. Its goal is to fund research that will let us live for 500 years. From Google Ventures’ Bill Maris Investing in Idea of Living to 500 – Bloomberg Business: “If you ask me today, is it possible to live to be [Read More...]
March 12, 2015
Was Tolkien a libertarian?
An essay in the Intercollegiate Review explores J. R. R. Tolkien’s political views. He said in a letter that his “political opinions lean more and more to Anarchy (philosophically understood, meaning abolition of control not whiskered men with bombs).” Also, “The most improper job of any man, even saints, is bossing other men. Not one [Read More...]
Big corporations support gay marriage
Belying the leftist myth that big corporations are conservative, 379 major businesses filed friend-of-the-court briefs supporting gay marriage for when the Supreme Court hears arguments on the issue on April 28. From UPDATE 2-Businesses back gay marriage, top U.S. court sets argument date | Reuters: Big business rallied behind the gay marriage cause on Thursday [Read More...]
Wikipedia sues the National Security Agency
Wikipedia has filed a lawsuit against the National Security Agency and the Justice Department, seeking to stop the government’s mass surveillance of the internet. From Wikipedia Is Suing the NSA – NationalJournal.com: Wikipedia filed a lawsuit on Tuesday challenging the constitutionality of the National Security Agency’s mass surveillance of Internet communications, a sudden and striking [Read More...]
March 11, 2015
Liberal and Illiberal Atheists
The London Guardian has published a fascinating in-depth article about atheism, its history and its different varieties. The author, John Gray, is himself an atheist, but he subjects what he calls today’s “evangelical atheists” to a withering critique. He especially criticizes the notion assumed by so many “new atheists” that if we just get rid [Read More...]
The higher calling of corporate mission statements
Thanks to David Bergquist for alerting me to an article in the Wall Street Journal about how corporate mission statements are now all about “changing the world” and other idealistic and even religious motivations (including having a “mission”), rather than just making a product. This demonstrates both people’s need for a sense of vocation and [Read More...]
Raising little narcissists
A study purports to show how certain parenting styles can turn children into narcissists. But it distinguishes between narcissism, which is bad, and “self-esteem,” which is good. From The Parenting Style That Turns Kids Into Narcissists – Bloomberg Business: Researchers at the University of Amsterdam took a more methodical approach to determine what kind of [Read More...]
March 10, 2015
Death of a conservative
M. Stanton Evans, one of the founders of modern conservatism, died at age 80 in Leesburg, Virginia. Read about his importance after the jump. I urge you to read his book The Theme Is Freedom, on the historical rise of political liberty. He takes what he calls “the liberal history lesson”–that the world was in [Read More...]
